The experimental drug ibrutinib (PCI-32765) shows great promise for the treatment of older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Older patients with advanced hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia and lymphoma, who received a conditioning regimen that included minimal-intensity radiation therapy prior to allogeneic (genetically different) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT; receipt of bone marrow or stem cells transplant) had survival and progression-free survival outcomes suggesting that this treatment approach may be a viable option for older patients with these malignancies.

SEATTLE, June 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

New research shows that a less-toxic combination of a targeted immune-based drug and a chemotherapy drug can produce long-term remissions in some chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients.

The monoclonal antibody rituximab given in addition to a standard chemotherapy regimen, significantly prolongs the lives of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a new study shows.